Table 3.
Summary of literature on environment exposures associated with oil drilling
| Author(s) | Year | Country | Exposure | Findings | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdul-Wahab et al. | 2012 | Oman | Air | Short-term levels of hydrogen sulfide gas from flaring exceeded acceptable standard | Fair |
| Macey et al. | 2014 | United States | Air | VOCs present near oil/gas drilling sites at levels above federal guidelines, concern to resident and worker health | Good |
| Novikova et al. | 2014 | Tatarstan Republic | Air | Significant correlation between pollutants in ambient air and number of diseases found in exposed population, suggesting delayed and cumulative effects of exposure | Poor |
| Spitz et al. | 1997 | United States | Drilling waste | Significantly higher levels of radium and other hazardous waste in former sludge pond and waste pit areas | Fair |
| Shadizadeh and Zoveidavianpoor | 2010 | Iran | Drilling waste | Heavy metal concentrations of reserve mud pit samples exceeded ACGIH standards | Fair |
| Hrichi et al. | 2013 | Tunisia | Drilling waste | Mean radium levels of oil fields above maximum safe standards | Fair |
| Rajaretnam and Spitz | 2000 | United States | Soil | About 1.3% of radium-226 in contaminated soil was found to leach into the environment | Good |
| Bojes and Pope | 2007 | United States | Soil | 12-46% of total PAHs in soil near oil sites comprised of possible carcinogens, exceeding regulatory standards | Good |
| Jibiri and Amakom | 2010 | Nigeria | Soil | All radiation detected in crude oil sedimentation tank found to be derived from naturally occuring radionuclides | Fair |
| Kuang et al. | 2011 | China | Soil | Higher concentrations of PAH found with decreasing distance from the source of the oily sludge | Fair |
| Agbalagba et al. | 2012 | Nigeria | Soil | Radioactivity of oil field samples within allowable limits | Fair |
| Teng et al. | 2013 | China | Soil | Significantly higher concentrations of TPH in the oil field due to spills or leaks | Good |
| Fu et al. | 2014 | China | Soil | Cadmium is the most common, easily changing/mobile, and potentially harmful heavy metal found in oil-polluted soils | Good |
| Jie et al. | 2015 | China | Soil | Napthenic acid levels of oil fields exceeded ecotoxic levels | Fair |
| Wang et al. | 2015 | China | Soil | Varying concentrations of carcinogenic PAHs in soil from oil fields, low cancer risk | Fair |
| Ajayi and Dike | 2016 | Nigeria | Soil | Higher risk for radiation exposure near active crude oil exploration, but levels are within permissible limits | Fair |
| Alawi and Azeez | 2016 | Iraq | Soil | Cancer risk for all sites within acceptable levels specified by US EPA | Fair |
| Olobaniyi and Omo-Irabor | 2016 | Nigeria | Soil | Neutral pH, low TOC, highly variable TPH,and slightly elevated levels of nickel in soil | Poor |
| Zhang et al. | 2013 | China | Soil | Level of PAH concentrations higher near the oil wells, presents risk of cancer | Fair |
| Asia et al. | 2007 | Nigeria | Soil and water | High levels of heavy metals detected in soil and water samples, some above natural levels | Fair |
| An et al. | 2005 | United States | Water | Groundwater under oil production sites higher in chloride, sodium, salinity, and conductivity | Fair |
| Moskovchenko et al. | 2009 | Russia | Water | Elevated concentrations of chloride,salinity, and total petroleum hydrocarbons | Fair |
| Alonso et al. | 2010 | Bolivia | Water | Contamination concentrations exceeded regulations in 76.19% of samples; contaminants included TPH, PAH, As, Mn and Fe | Fair |
| Ma et al. | 2011 | China | Water | Surface and groundwater quality severely impacted by pollution from petroleum drilling | Fair |
| Teng et al. | 2013 | China | Water | Higher TPH levels in aquifer near oil field from oil exploitation, transportation, and temporary storage | Good |
| Li and Carlson | 2014 | United States | Water | Methane in drinking water but not strongly associated with proximity to extraction sites | Good |
| Moquet et al. | 2014 | Peru | Water | Oil extraction activity significantly impacts concentrations of dissolved Na and Cl of the Amazon basin | Fair |
| Lauer et al. | 2016 | United States | Water | Occurrence of spills is strongly associated with oil well density, spill water violates regulations contaminant levels | Good |
| Li et al. | 2016 | United States | Water | No aqueous phase contamination of groundwater detected | Fair |
| Cozzarelli et al. | 2017 | United States | Water | Water Persistent pollution from oil/gas wastewater spill despite remediation efforts | Good |